Olympus E-400 vs Olympus TG-870

Below is a detailed review of the Olympus E-400 vs Olympus TG-870, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Ultracompact and both are manufactured by Olympus. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and TG-870 (16MP) and the E-400 (Four Thirds) and TG-870 (1/2.3") come with different sensor sizing.

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The E-400 was manufactured 10 years earlier than the TG-870 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus TG-870 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a simple summation of how the E-400 matches up against the TG-870 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-400 and Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-400 Gallery and Olympus TG-870 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-400 provides external measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) and the Olympus TG-870 has dimensions of 113mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.1") having a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-400 vs Olympus TG-870 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have at that moment. Underneath is the front view measurements comparison of the E-400 and the TG-870.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-400 and TG-870 is 77 and 91 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to visualize the difference in sensor measurements simply by researching a spec sheet. The graphic below might give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-400 and TG-870.

As you can see, both of the cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-400 due to its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus TG-870 will render extra detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop photos a little more aggressively. The older E-400 will be behind in sensor technology.